Queensland’s best walks and trails for wildlife spotting

Welcome to Queensland – Australia’s most biodiverse state. Kookaburras laughing in the trees, kangaroos leaping over open plains, platypuses gliding through crystal clear creeks and humpback whales playing in the surf – you’ll find them all here in Queensland.

Ready to meet them? Put on your walking shoes and read our guide to 10 of the state’s best wildlife trails for animal lovers, birdwatchers, and nature enthusiasts alike.

Spotted Gum Circuit and Stringybark Circuit, Daisy Hill Conservation Park | Brisbane

Daisy Hill Conservation Park’s open eucalypt forests, melaleuca wetlands and subtropical rainforests are home to over 1,400 species of flora and fauna, making the park a must for wildlife lovers.

Follow the Spotted Gum Circuit (5.2 km) and look up amongst the towering spotted gums to spot koalas munching on eucalypt leaves or snoozing on branches above you. Or try the Stringybark Circuit (5.7 km) where you can spot glossy black cockatoos, possums, wallabies and powerful owls.

Afterwards, make your home amongst the gum trees for the afternoon and enjoy a picnic or BBQ in the Day Use Area, or visit the Daisy Hill Koala Centre and learn about these amazing marsupials.

Duration: 2 - 3 hours

Classification: Grade 3: Intermediate

Spring Mountain Recreational Trail | Brisbane

You’ll need some spring in your step to tackle this one! Spring Mountain Recreational Trail combines a quad-busting 490-metre climb (with a rock scramble thrown in for good measure) with a 10 km track brimming with wildlife.

Here in Spring Mountain Forest Park you’ll see eastern grey kangaroos around you (dusk or dawn is the best time to see them) and birds above you, including rosellas and honeyeaters.

Duration: 10 km – around 3.5 - 5 hours

Classification: Grade 3: Intermediate

Mary Cairncross Rainforest Loop | Sunshine Coast

Step into the Sunshine Coast’s ‘backyard’—its hinterland of subtropical rainforest and green hills—and venture into Mary Cairncross Scenic Reserve. Walk the Rainforest Loop, where amongst the strangling figs and piccabeen palms you can spot birdlife including wrens, riflebirds, and bowerbirds, kaleidoscopes of butterflies and red-legged pademelon wallabies.  

Can’t get enough of birds? Just 6 km up the road you’ll find Maleny Botanic Gardens and Bird World, where you can take a guided interactive tour amongst 600 native and exotic birds.

Duration: 1.7 km – around 1 hour

Classification: Grade 2: Moderate

Accessibility: The track is a hardened and may have gentle hill sections and occasional steps. The nearby Glider Gallery Boardwalk is stroller and wheelchair accessible.

Mount Whitfield, The Arrows | Cairns & Great Barrier Reef

Think you need to hike deep into the rainforest to see the wildlife of Tropical North Queensland? Think again—the 1.5 km Red Arrow track (part of a series of four recreational trails) just 10-minutes from the heart of Cairns will have you face-to-face with monitor lizards, wallabies and ground-dwelling birds like the orange-footed scrub fowl and the brush-turkey.

Duration: 1.5 - 6 km, taking around 1 – 4 hours

Classification: Grade 3: Intermediate

Coastal Walk, Noosa | Sunshine Coast

Tracking along the spectacular shoreline between Noosa Headland day-use area and Sunshine Beach, the Coastal Walk in Noosa National Park offers the chance to see incredible wildlife—on land, in the sky, and in the ocean.

Peer out amongst the she-oaks and pandanus palms for glimpses of pods of dolphins and migrating humpback whales (between July and November), keep an eye out for turtles and koalas and look up for birdlife including white-cheeked honeyeaters and little wattlebirds.

Duration: 10 km – around 4 hours

Classification: Grade 4: Difficult

Araucaria Falls track, Main Range National Park | Queensland Country

Walk a hoop pine lined trail through subtropical rainforest and discover a secluded waterfall in the heart of the Goomburra Section of Main Range National Park—part of the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia World Heritage Area.

Here amongst the dry open forests and rainforests of palms and epiphytes, you’ll find a variety of wildlife, including bowerbirds, echidnas, koalas and frogs—such as the endangered Fleay’s barred frogs.

Duration: 1.5 km – around 2.5 hours

Classification: Grade 4: Difficult

Forts Walk, Magnetic Island | Townsville

Magnetic Island got its name because Captain Cook believed the island was affecting his ship’s compass. Wildlife lovers will feel their own magnetic pull towards Queensland’s largest koala colony. See them in their natural habitat on the Forts Walk, which winds its way up through eucalypt bush and acacia woodland to reveal World War II concrete fortifications and stunning 360-degree views out over the Coral Sea.

Koalas aren’t the only animals you’ll see here—look out for rock wallabies, bush stone curlews, lorikeets and echidnas (one of the world’s only two egg-laying mammals or monotremes as they’re known).

Duration: 1 km – around 2 hours

Classification: Grade 3: Intermediate

Julia Creek Nature Trail | Outback Queensland

Set your alarm early (or head out late in the afternoon if you’re not a morning person) for the best time to spot kangaroos, brolgas, emus, and lizards on this 7 km trail located behind the caravan park in Julia Creek.

While you’re here in the Gateway to the Gulf, keep your eyes peeled for one of Julia Creek’s favourite creatures – the Julia Creek Dunnart, a mouse-sized marsupial that is as shy as it is cute. If you’re lucky, you might spot one in the Mitchell grass outside town, but your best bet is to see them at the Visitor Centre.

Duration: 7 km – around 2 hours

Classification: Grade 2: Moderate

Accessibility: Although it’s a flat route, there is a dirt track.

Carnarvon Gorge Nature Trail | Southern Great Barrier Reef

200-million years in the making, Carnarvon Gorge’s white sandstone cliffs and prehistoric cycads, eucalypts and wildflowers are home to over 170 species of birds, 60 mammals, and dozens of frogs and reptiles.

To see all the wildlife on offer in this outback oasis, trek your way around the 19.4-kilometre Big Bend Walk. For something more bite-sized, try the 1.5-kilometre Nature Trail for a chance to spot the elusive platypus (tip: look out for bubbles on the surface—a platypus will often be diving below).

Duration: 1.5 km – around 1 hour

Classification: Grade 3: Intermediate

Cloncurry Eco Trail and Chinaman Creek Dam | Outback Queensland

Want to see Queensland’s official bird emblem in real life? Take flight to Cloncurry in the heart of the outback and say hello to the brolga, a tall, wetland bird that also features on our coat of arms.

Walk the Cloncurry Eco Trail towards Chinaman Creek Dam—a landscape of outback bush and red dirt punctuated by splashes of wildflower colour—and see birds including the brolga, egrets, ducks, cormorants and the Cloncurry Parrot.

Duration: 4.3 km – around 1.5 hours

Classification: Grade 1: Easy

Accessibility: Yes, a concreted path is accessible for wheelchairs and prams.

Looking for more walks around Queensland? From family-friendly to dog-friendly and the beautiful scenic guide, take your pick here.